Praying for your pastor

Time was when I rarely prayed for my pastors. After all, they were such learned, godly and experienced men they seemed to least need it! Ha ha.

Now, my (co-)pastor is the person I pray for in the church most (other than my own family). The spiritual life of the church depends more on him (and myself) more than anyone else, under God. If I want the church to be blessed, then the main means by which God brings a blessing to a church is through its pastors. If I want the church to go off the rails, drift along aimlessly, etc., then the number one way that can happen is through spiritual decline in the pastor's life. And when I became a pastor I learnt that what I might appear to be to the people who see me only on Sundays and other on-best-behaviour meetings and what I actually am before God are two things that can have a yawning chasm between them.